The Penny Farthing

The room looked onto a public footpath and was freezing because the heating didn't work. There was a small convector heater, but I had to fiddle with it before it would work, and I wondered if the wiring was defective. The carpet needs replacing, and there was a crusty brown stain on the bed cover.

The team were wonderfully friendly, especially Marzena, and the food at the Kings Arms was delicious. The upstairs rooms are finished to a high standard, though the ground-floor ones feel a little tired. I'd recommend it.

The reception staff were lovely and apologetic, and Berkhamsted itself is a very quaint town. But Room 18 was dreadful. Like James E, whose review was posted four months earlier, I found the same unclear stain on the carpet, and black tape was still holding the bedside lamp together. We knew The Penny Farthing wouldn't be a boutique London hotel, but its promotional photos were so misleading that I could never have guessed what we'd find. The rooms were dirty, almost everything seemed broken, and the showers were ice cold. I wouldn't recommend staying here.

The reception staff were great, the location was good and the bathroom was clean. For one night, the room was adequate, though I expected more at over £100 a night. It needed refurbishment: there were floor stains, damaged equipment and very poor lighting. The room felt dark because its window faced a covered public walkway, which also meant less privacy and more noise. The shower flipped suddenly from freezing to boiling, and the air-conditioning didn't work.